Written by As a coach, I always had about 100 tasks, ideas, things that I needed to work on, or discussions that I wanted to have every day. I wanted each practice to be the best for our athletes and team. I wanted each assistant coach to learn something and become better in their craft. I wanted our organization to be successful and our teams and athletes to perform at their highest levels. And each day, it seemed that I just piled more and more on my plate. It was not intentional, but athletes, assistant coaches, and staff were bringing their best and I wanted to continue that focus, effort, learning, and success. And it was slowly adversely impacting my mental, physical, and emotional health.
Each success was countered by stress that was eating away at me. I maybe got a little less sleep, ate a little less healthy, spent less time with my family, or cancelled an appointment with my doctor. But each day, it was a snowball that continued to get bigger until something had to give.
As coaches, when we see athletes struggling, we are quick to jump in and help them out. During competition, we may give them only one or two things to think about so they do not get overwhelmed. But why do we not do that for ourselves?
Today, I ask you to focus on one thing. That one thing can be anything from having a few discussions with your athletes, helping your assistant coaches with an idea they were working on, having the staff refocus on a task or project they are working on, or for you to delegate some of those tasks or projects to others that you have been holding so close, so you can spend some quality time with your family or self. While it may not seem advantageous to the team, athletes, or organization, your health and wellbeing is. Just focusing on one thing at a time is something that works for our athletes. Why can’t coaches also do this for themselves? You may be surprised by the results.